North Karnataka eyes investments to spur growth, jobs


Hubballi (Karnataka), Feb 13 (IANS): To set right the regional imbalance in Karnataka, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is pitching for investments and jobs in the southern state's northwest region, Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said on Wednesday.

"We are showcasing the immense potential of the state's northwest region for investments and employment in thousands for balanced growth in the state," Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar told reporters here ahead of the 'Invest Karnataka @ Hubballi' on Friday.

Hubballi is about 400km northwest of Bengaluru.

The region has been progressive over the years as an erstwhile Bombay Province before the re-organisation of the states on linguistic basis in the mid-1950s.

Stressing on the need to de-congest Bengaluru industrially and ensure uniform development of the other regions in the state, Shettar said the state government would offer a slew of incentives and single-window clearance for investors to set up their operations in cities and towns across Karnataka.

"As cities and towns across the state have abundant natural and human resources to meet the needs of the manufacturing, services and agriculture sectors, we are inviting investments beyond Bengaluru, which is saturated and stressed out in terms of infrastructure support," asserted Shettar.

The day-long meet will have power-point presentations on the infrastructure facilities and human resources at Hubballi, Dharwad, Belagavi, Haveri, Vijayapura and Kalaburagi in the state's northern region.

To be flagged off by state Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, the roadshow will be addressed by Union Ministers from the state D.V. Sadananda Gowda (Chemiclas and Fertilisers), Prahlad Joshi (Coal and Mines) and Suresh Angadi (Railways).

"We have invited about 1,000 industrialists and investors to participate in the meet and sign agreements for setting up new facilities or expand their operations in the region for creating direct and indirect employment and contribute to the socio-economic growth of the state," reiterated Shettar.

Claiming that Hinduja and Tata groups have shown interest in investing in the region, Shettar, who is a legislator from Hubballi, said the state government would set up a cluster for the FMCG sector at Hubballi as the region has abundant raw materials for making fast-moving consumer goods, with road, rail and air connectivity and infrastructure support, including logistics.

"We also held meetings with Godrej group, Jyoti Labs and other companies to set up their manufacturing facilities to serve the markets in the region," the minister pointed.

The state government has also invited Chinese firms to set up production plants to roll out electric two-wheelers and cars for hard-selling in the region.

The state government has also 2,500-acres of land bank in Kadechur industrial area in Yadagir in the northern region of the state for setting up manufacturing and agro-processing units in food parks.

  

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Comment on this article

  • Ramesh Kumar Nanjundaiya, Sunnyvale, California, US

    Thu, Feb 13 2020

    Excellent initiative in Hubballi indeed. All the best for the road show. Hubballi should become the dynamic Export Center for the region. Today India needs to increase its size and scale of manufacturing without any restrictions whatsoever as labour laws, land , electricity, water, political interference, etc. India should be able to push very hard and fast for all types of exports of goods and services and not be satisfied to be called as exporter of traditional items only. Those days are long gone. Also need to take full advantage of technology for logistics to be more competitive globally. Here is where we need the support of the USA by identifying sectors for opening up Indian economy to foreign direct investment. In the last 5 years, India is rapidly opening up its economy across a range of areas from real estate, to defence, to insurance, to pension funds. In the last five years, India's FDI has grown by 66%, at a point of time where FDI across the world has fallen by 13%. This will enable the Indian economy to benefit from forces of globalization.
    Indian Foreign Exchange reserves: One of the important tools to work towards a US$ 5 Trillion economy for India is to try and double it present foreign exchange holding (forex) of US$ 425 billion to about US$ 900 billion within the next 5 years. China has foreign currency reserves of US $3.1 trillion. Forex is considered a very important indicator of a country’s economic health and growth prospects. Increased forex reserves (by expanding exports massively of goods and services and seeking inward foreign remittances and foreign direct investments for viable businesses and joint ventures) allow a nation to maintain liquidity during an economic emergency. They also make a country more attractive to foreign investors as India is a consumerism oriented country. Hubballi should lead the export initiative.

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